


Those Who Deny The Existence of Dragons Often Get Eaten By Them

by everybodygotawaterbuffalo



Series: A dragon, an elf, a siren, a vampire, and a shapeshifter walk into a kpop band [2]
Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Don't copy to another site, F/F, Mythical Beings & Creatures, but hey aren't we all, irene gets salty, irene is really really soft for wendy, irene thinks she's really pretty, nobody in the u.s. thinks dragons exist, wendy's a siren
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 17:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17791355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everybodygotawaterbuffalo/pseuds/everybodygotawaterbuffalo
Summary: A large portion of the U.S. is incredibly ignorant (but what's new)Wendy tries to protect IreneIrene wants to eat an interviewerHotel pools are great places to stretch one's tail





	Those Who Deny The Existence of Dragons Often Get Eaten By Them

Among sirens, Wendy is an enigma. Among her girls though, she’s just the one who sleeps in a tub and learned how to cook out of pure spite. Although Wendy’s mer form can eat just about anything, her human form is a bit pickier and since you can’t cook underwater, Wendy enjoys having this over her relatives. She figures if they don’t appreciate her voice she doesn’t have to appreciate their diet. 

Although interspecies relationships are common, there are some pairings that don’t tend to work out. Sirens and dragons is one of these pairings. From a purely logistical standpoint, it makes sense: someone who spends a third to half their time in water with someone who has literal fire in their stomach. It would seem someone’s bound to get hurt. Wendy and Irene, however, work really well together. Irene’s lairing tendencies like ironing and tidying line up nicely with Wendy’s love of cooking, and Irene’s naturally high body temperature is one of the few things that can quell the wicked chills Wendy gets when she’s away from the ocean for too long. Unlike most dragons, Irene is very physically affectionate. Most aquatic species are, though, and Wendy is no exception there. 

There are some differences though, as with any interspecies relationship. They’re travelling right now and while Irene’s very low-maintenance as long as she keeps track of her hoard, Wendy will freely admit she’s the least convenient member to travel with. She can’t sleep on planes or cars because her body just never adjusted to sleeping above water and though she doesn’t eat as much as, say, Seulgi or Yeri, she needs even more underwater time than they need sleep. 

Here, though, Wendy finds it a bit hard to sleep, and not because the water is different or the tub is a little too small. Well, not  _ just _ because of that. It’s their first time properly visiting the United States; any time before this has just been for KCon or similar events where it’s just a performance and maybe an interview, not the media storm they’ll be facing this time. She’s not worried about the language barrier -- she knows she can translate for her girls if necessary. She’s not worried about the travel -- it’s nothing they haven’t done before. No, what’s got her up at night is more of a …  _ cultural _ issue. 

See, dragons are incredibly rare in the U.S. and they kind of always have been. Those present also don’t tend to reveal themselves to the public. It’s amazing what a couple centuries of xenophobia can do. Unfortunately, this has led to the spread of the myth that dragons don’t really exist. Most people in the U.S. who haven’t spent a significant portion of time abroad or aren’t personally close with a dragon think anyone claiming to be a dragon is just a fire elemental or volcano spirit or something trying to sound impressive. To be fair, dragons don’t exactly sound real: spitting fire, living for millenia, shapeshifting into building-sized forms, etc. but it’s not like any single aspect of dragons doesn’t exist in at least one other more common species. 

Although the U.S. touts itself as a “species melting pot,” most non-European magical creatures tend to keep to themselves. Recently, as Wendy’s seen in the news, there’s been a resurgence of positivity and reclaiming Western, African, and Native American culture and heritage, but it’s slow going. Fighting against the status quo isn’t as easy as TV shows and movies make it seem. 

Up to this point, Wendy has refrained from mentioning the whole  _ people don’t think you exist _ thing to Irene, but she isn’t sure how long that’ll last with the number of interviews they have this week. All she can do is hope all their interviewers have enough tact to keep that particular thought to themselves. Wendy can’t be held responsible for what Irene might do if something like that is brought up insensitively. That entertaining thought is enough to allow Wendy to finally drift off to sleep, curled somewhat uncomfortably in the slightly-too-small hotel tub. 

Of course, just her luck, one of their first interviews is with a pretty little white girl with a horrendously squeaky voice who doesn’t seem to know how “shutting one’s mouth for three goddamn seconds” works. It’s about eight and a half minutes into the interview that she makes her way to the topic of species. 

“So … what are you really?” she asks Irene, who quirks a brow at her. 

“A dragon.” 

“No, really. Some kind of fire elemental? A volcano spirit? Like, we all know dragons don’t exist so what are you?” Irene’s eyes flash gold and Wendy is quick to put a hand on her thigh in a feeble attempt to calm her down. Now’s not the best time to bring out the siren voice, though she’ll do it if this escalates. 

“ Bitch …” It’s in Korean, and all Wendy can do is hope the interviewer doesn’t know what that means. 

“Irene, no.” After a moment, Irene seems to remember where they are and her eyes return to their normal brown, fire crawling its way back down her throat. 

“I believe we’re done with this interview.” Her tone leaves no room for negotiation and she begins ushering the other members out of the room. 

On their way out, Wendy pauses for a moment, looking the interviewer in the eye. 

“Those who deny the existence of dragons often get eaten by them,” she says coldly, before spinning on her heel and exiting, tugging Irene by the sleeve behind her. 

 

~*~

 

That evening, Irene joins Wendy in the hotel pool. Wendy’s mer form is beautiful, and Irene takes a moment to just admire her. Like most mermaids and sirens, her underwater self doesn’t match her human disguise. Wendy’s skin is 5-6 shades darker, evidence of her family history in tropical waters, and her tail is bright and multicolored, designed to match coral reefs. In this form, she’s an ambush predator: all wiry muscles and sharp instincts. 

Dipping her lower legs in the water as she sits at the edge, Irene notices it’s relatively warm. Wendy must be a little homesick. Irene knows she grew up in the coastal waters of Korea with migrations south every winter before she moved to Canada. No one really knows how long sirens live for, and they haven’t done anything to deny the myth that they’re practically immortal. Irene’s been meaning to talk to Wendy about that but every idea of how to bring it up that she’s had has seemed insensitive. Anyway, there’s a different discussion she wants to have tonight. 

“Wendy? Love, can you come up here?” Though she keeps her head above water while she speaks, Wendy pops up next to her, tail fins splayed out and swaying slowly back and forth. 

“You’re still thinking about the interview, aren’t you?” It’s more of a statement than a question. Irene feels herself lean a little forward; Wendy’s voice is always pretty, but in this form even her speaking voice is almost dangerously alluring. 

“Yeah. I just … I know I shouldn’t be this shaken up by it. Like, logically I know I exist and I know dragons exist but there’s just … I don’t even know.” Wendy, as always, knows exactly what to say when Irene’s words fail her.

“It’s one thing to have a single person not think you exist, but something like this, where an entire country -- an entire  _ culture _ just doesn’t recognize you? I don’t think any of us really know what that feels like, though Yeri probably has some idea, but we all know it’s no fun. Oh--whoops. Did you mean to join me?” Irene didn’t even notice she was all the way in the pool, drawn toward her voice, until Wendy pointed it out. 

“Well, I’m here now,” she says lightly and Wendy laughs. It’s a good thing Irene’s leaning against the pool edge because her knees go a little weak at the sound. 

Wendy spends about another half hour in the pool, mostly showing off for Irene, before pulling herself out and drying off. It’s mesmerising, watching her scales turn to legs and her body completely change. It’s not quite as cool as watching her turn into her mer form, but any transformation like this is impressive. 

Once they’re dry, Wendy tucks herself under Irene’s arm and they head back to their room. She can tell Irene’s still upset about what happened, so as they get ready for bed she siren-hums, only pausing to give Irene kisses whenever they cross paths. It’s not until they’re tucked into bed with the lights out that Irene speaks up again. 

“Is there anything I should’ve done differently today?” 

“No, baby.” Her voice is reassuring and for once doesn’t have any siren compulsion in it (accidental or otherwise), just sincerity and love. “You handled it really well, all things considered.” Irene curls up against her, warm and soft and sleepy. 

“Besides,” Wendy continues, her tone lighter. “We all know you could’ve eaten her if you wanted to.”

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!! I hope you all enjoyed this!!


End file.
